Waiting on Time
by SnowGivesMeVertigo
Summary: When you are in love with Time's Champion, nothing happens by chance; every question is answered in time... Or was it with time? - Bitter sweet love story - A different spin on post-Doomsday - Prepare for twists - Rose / The Doctor indefinitely. (Rated M for some smut)
1. Waiting

*****Disclaimer:** **I do not own these characters or anything else. This story is simply a fans interpretation.*****

 **Also, please be kind fellow whovians, when it comes to cannon. I've only been a member of the fandom for a couple years, and might not have everything exactly right.**

* * *

Secluded and alone, that was her life now. Even on the rare occasion that she did go into town, there was no one that she could relate to. She felt out of place with the forty year olds, that were closer to her appearance. She felt out of place with the elderly, that were closer to her age. She felt out of place in general, and yet she persisted. _Why?_ Why bother? If it weren't for the unshakable feeling that she had some part yet to play, she would have no reason to go on. Bad Wolf had extended her life for some purpose, she just knew it. It had to be true, didn't it? Otherwise, there would be no answer to the question of ' _why?_ '. When you are in love with Time's Champion, nothing happens by chance; every question is answered in time... Or was it _with_ time?

Rain was falling softly on the grassy hill where the Tardis was parked. Permanently parked, she might add. She was sitting on the floor of the console room, with her legs hanging out the open door. The rain was turning her socks a darker shade of purple. She was watching the slow transition, when all at once, the time rotor behind her illuminated and began to churn.

Her head whipped around to face the sudden, yet not entirely unexpected, change. The Tardis herself had warned her that it would be happening soon. She got up to inspect the pulsing time rotor, running her hands along the smooth console affectionately. Alas, she could not pilot the ship alone, well, at least not without its complete cooperation. The stubborn police box had refused to budge for years.

As much as the Tardis was her home, it never truly belonged to her; not in the way it had belonged to him. The ship would always be bound to him, indefinitely. The fact that it continued to shelter her and care for her was an indication of the mutual love they shared: otherwise it too would have no reason to go on. Sad that it was only just now becoming full operational.

Sure, they had used it for trips around the world and even around the immediate star cluster in later years, but never through time. They didn't get the chance. Without ideal growing conditions or a way to acquire exotic alien parts to help it along, the Tardis formation process had taken much longer than expected. It had taken nearly two hundred years to clone a fully functional ship from a single coral strut.

There had been too many variables back then, back when they had started. The strictly linear progression of time was not something they had taken into account. Why would they have? How could they have known? Known that for some reason she was going to age slower than the half-human version of him... Known that Bad Wolf had tampered with her physiology to keep her alive for longer than should have been humanly possible. That's not to say that they didn't have many happy years together; one hundred and eighty happy years together to be exact, before old age had claimed him. It was only now that she understood why he had been so hesitant to love her, immortal as he was. Outliving the ones you care most about leaves you feeling empty and hollow. It was surreal, in that she had never considered the possibility that she would outlive him.

For eighteen years, Rose and the Tardis had mourned him together. And for eighteen years, the Tardis had refused to move, refused to fly without her usual pilot. The only difference was that now the ship could travel through time as well as space, if only she were willing to do so.

The rain was picking up outside, bowing the visible foliage under the weight of the water. Their little cottage looked saturated too, she would go check on it tomorrow to be sure that nothing had leaked. She rarely went down the hill to the old cottage any more. They had only lived in that 'same size on the inside' building (as he called it), until their Tardis was developed enough to house them comfortably. However, their rural piece of property still proved to be a good place to park their fledgeling time ship, since it was unable to enter the vortex.

Rose pulled the door closed for the night and picked up her supper dishes that were left on the jump seat. She thought about working more on her painting or reading more of her book before going to bed, but if she was honest with herself, sleeping was her favorite part of the day now... Well, usually...

In the years since... Since him... She had developed bright lucid dreams. Most of the time, they were detailed dreams about her adventures with the Doctor. Sometimes, they were nightmares filled with fire and screaming. Every once in a while, they were romantic in nature and she got the chance to make love to her dear Doctor again.

In what had become her nightly ritual, to encourage the romantic dreams, she flipped through their old photo album in the bed they used to share. It was always bitter sweet, but it reminded her that with a Time Lord anything was possible. She wouldn't put it past him to show up, out of the blue, somehow... Somehow, he would always come back for her. Perhaps that was her unknown purpose: to wait for him. Rose closed her eyes and descended into welcome slumber.

...

The Tardis explored her new grasp of time, flexed her wings so to speak. Not that she would ever use them. She would never leave her Thief, no matter how much she loved her Wolf. Time felt familiar to the ship, like déjà vu or a waking dream. The other version of herself had used time freely and frequently, and this version of her taped easily into the memory.

As the Tardis peaked into the time vortex, she was startled by another all but forgotten sensation. An incoming transmission? From whom?

 _Doctor? Could that really be you? We just picked up on the time signature of your ship, and dared to hope..._


	2. Paints

They were in a small hostel, on some unknown planet, in the less than reputable part of a city. The uncomfortable bed was pressed flush up against a drafty fourth story window that looked out on a small courtyard. Perhaps in the summer the courtyard would hold a charming garden, but for now, all it held was snow. Fat clumps of snowflakes fell through the cold night air. The lights of the alien city reflected off the heavy snow clouds, casting everything in an otherworldly orange glow, including their little room. Cramped as it was, their accommodations didn't usually matter so long as they were together.

Rose shivered as she watched the snow. "Doctor, the window is a bit drafty... D'you see another blanket around by any chance?"

"What? You mean this flimsy excuse for a comforter isn't doing the job?" He teased.

She tried to snuggle further under it, but every time she pulled it up her toes would become exposed at the bottom. " _Comforter?_ It's hardly more than a scrap of flannel."

"Yeah, a scrap of flannel that you seem to be hogging on your side!" The Doctor was trying to fein offence, but he always did a poor job concealing his affection for her.

"Quite the gentleman, you are! Don't you have superior circulation or something, to help keep you warm?"

"Yes... I mean, _no_... Oh for petes sake!... Come'ere."

Smiling, he collected her in his arms and pulled her tight against his lean chest. Not that his cool body temperature would do much to stave off the cold, but her own internal thermometer always rose when he was so close. He nuzzled his nose into the back of her neck, placing a soft kiss there. His double heartsbeat thrummed against her back. The Doctor reached down to retrieve his long overcoat and brought it over their entwined bodies.

"Better?" He asked.

"Mmmmm... Getting there..." Rose wound her fingers through his and pulled his arm tight around her.

" _Well_... There is one way that most species can naturally elevate their core temperature. It's practically universal among warm blooded creatures. _Well_... I say universal, but that's never really the case, now is it? Speaking in generalities is almost always inaccurate, too many variations in a limitless sample size... _Well_ , what I should say is that all warm blooded creatures native to Earth can raise their temperature that way... But that would exclude me, which would defeat the purpose of the argument I was trying to make in the first place..."

"Doctor? Is there a point?" Of course Rose knew what he was referring to. The evidence of his implied desire was pressing against her bum quite insistently. She just wanted to hear him say it. No matter how long they had been together, he still became abashed when it came to physical affection. It was terribly sweet.

"Er... Sex, Rose Tyler... I think we should have sex to keep warm."

Rose knew he was blushing without even turning around to check, and it made her giggle. Keeping her fingers locked with his, she brought his hand up under her shirt. Her breath hitched when his cool fingers traced the swell of her breast. The Doctor sighed appreciatively and buried his face in her golden hair, before letting his hand explore more of her body.

Right at that moment, there was a jarring cracking sound and the hostel shook violently. Plaster from the ceiling broke and crumbled down onto the two companions. The ever nimble Doctor sprung to his feet to find the source of the disturbance. Another explosion rattled their building and broke the window next to Rose. She pulled the blanket over her head in time to protect herself from the falling shards of glass.

"Rose!"

"I'm ok Doctor, s'just a scratch."

"We have to get out of here. _Run!_ "

Hand in hand the two of them dashed down the stairs and out onto the city street. After another bright flash, the roof of the hostel building collapsed in on itself. The building next to it was set ablaze, and dozens of people streamed out of the doors in various states of panic. A dalek flew over their heads and launched a bluish-purple orb at the structure across the street. It too flashed and caught fire.

The snow in the air was replaced by drifting ash, but the sickly orange glow remained as flames leapt up to meet the reflective clouds. Rose and the Doctor ran through the chaos in the night. For some reason, they could not remember where they had parked the Tardis. Unsure of which way to turn, they emerged into a large square just as a dozen daleks fired upon the spiky domed cathedral in the center. When the dome caved in, it sounded like thunder. Dust and smoke billowed out of the open roof, while flames licked up the sharp vertical buttresses.

Behind them, a raspy voice cried: " _Exterminate!_ " Rose turned around to see a dalek immolate a group of screaming school children. Without thinking, she ran to the place where they had been standing and fell to her knees in tears, surrounded by their ashes. The end of the dalek gunstick was aimed at her next, but she couldn't move. She was held motionless by the sudden shock and grief.

"Rose! No!" The Doctor leapt in front of her, in time to be hit by the electric pulse himself.

...

Rose woke up in a cold sweat, clutching her pillow desperately. It was that nightmare again. It always turned into that same nightmare, always the screaming and fire. The one tonight had shaken her more than usual, however. She reasoned that it was because the dream had started off so well, that she had let her guard down. Rose shuttered at dissonance between where it had started and where it had ended up.

The Tardis sent wave upon wave of calm into her fractured thoughts. After a few deep breaths, the grip that the dream had on her relented and she was able to calm down. Rose knew that she would be unable to get back to sleep now. Instead, she got up and padded into the console room in bare feet. On nights like this, the only solace she found was in transferring her fears into something tangible: Namely, the massive oil painting that she had been working on since the nightmares had began. If she captured the fear on canvas, it would cease to haunt her mind. (For the most part, anyway)

Looking at the painting, she began to fret. It was nearly complete. How was she going to cope with the nightmares after it was finished? Shaking her head, she dismissed it as a quandary for another night.

Rose ran the fine horsehair brush along the crest of her cheek, remembering the way the Doctor had so patiently taught her to paint. _Good memories to fend off the darkness._ He told her once, that he had been schooled in painting by none other than Edgar Degas. Supposedly the brushes she was using had, at one point, belonged to that famous artist. They were one of the few mementos that her half-human Doctor had claimed from his other self.

She rifled through the lovely oil paints which he had given her so long ago… _cadmium orange, brown ochre, raw sienna… and burnt umber…_


	3. Intruder

**Thank you for the lovely reviews so far. I always appreciate them.**

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Rose was putting the final touches on her painting just as the sun was starting to peek through the Tardis window. Standing back, she appraised her piece. _A job well done._ It was the best painting she had created yet, and the first one to tackle more difficult subject matter. All of the others had been static ensembles of fruit or landscapes. After she finished carefully rinsing her brushes with mineral spirits, Rose wiped her brow. Looking down at the back of her hand, she realized that she must have just streaked her forehead with cinnamon colored paint.

"Hah!... Well, Old Girl... I think it's time for a quick shower, yeah? Could you please get some hot water started for me?"

The Tardis sung an affirmative reply as well as her own brand of appreciation for the newly completed painting.

...

The long shower rejuvenated Rose. She marveled over the restorative properties of cleansing while she got dressed in her usual jeans and hoodie. As she stood in the bathroom, drying her hair, she fell an unusual buzz in her mind. She flipped off the hair-dryer, so that she could be sure she had heard the Tardis properly. _Intrusion alert? Wha?_ Who could have possibly broken into her Tardis? This ship could withstand the combined hordes of Genghis Khan, people don't just accidently break in. What enemy in this universe even knew she was here?

She hurried to the console room, armed with the hair-dryer that the Doctor had tinkered with for years. It had eventually started to resemble a rather formidable gun (to the untrained eye at least). Rose hoped that the intruder wouldn't know the difference. If things went poorly, she had the ship to help her. The Tardis would never let any harm come to her within its walls, right?

Staying in the hallway, she peered around the corner into the console room. A man with a long red robe and red skull cap was scanning the central computer with some sort of blinking device. All of his clothing was delicately embroidered in gold. _Who was this guy, the Pope?_ He didn't appear aggressive at all, thankfully. Given his age and stature, Rose felt confident that she could take him if the need arose. Even so, she didn't let go of the hair-dryer when she entered the room.

Rose held her 'weapon' out in front of her and cocked her head to the side. "Hello? Who might you be?"

The gentleman looked up from his task, apparently unimpressed by what he saw. Blinking, he puzzled briefly over her face before replying with condescension. "What are you doing here?"

"I am the resident of this ship... _my ship_... What are _you_ doing here?"

He pocketed the scanning device and straightened his posture. " _Your ship?_ This ship is bound to the Doctor, son of Gallifrey. You are a mere human, and not capable of piloting a Type 40, Mark 1 TARDIS."

That response was far too specific, but it was more insulting than threatening. Rose huffed and lowered the dryer. "Ok... Let's try this again, shall we? My name is Rose Tyler, wife... Er... _widow_ of the Meta-crisis version of the Doctor."

"So the Doctor is not here? Never was here, in fact? That explains why there was no answer to my transmission." His stoic grey eyes narrowed at her.

Rose was quickly losing patience with this man. "He was absolutely still the Doctor!"

"Not for our purposes. A meta-crisis should never have been allowed to exist, a cross species abomination... Human mix I assume, given that he mated with you?... The Doctor always was sloppy when it came to regeneration, but I never thought he would allow something like this to happen."

That crossed the line. How dare he imply anything negative about her husband. " _OI!_ Now just hold on! Who do you think you are? The Doctor was a brilliant man, even when he was half human!"

"Always blinded by emotions, humans are. Clearly, your affection for the man is clouding your judgement... Besides, my identity would be irrelevant to you, as we have no use for a woman of your species. Farewell, Rose Tyler." Seeing that she was too stunned to formulate a proper response, the gentleman turned to leave, but stopped abruptly upon seeing her painting propped up against the wall adjacent to the door. "Wh... Where did you acquire this piece of art?"

"I painted it."

" _You_ painted it? A human?" The puzzled expression returned briefly.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes... We've already established that I'm a dumb ape, ta."

"Explain yourself."

Rose dismissed the impulse to lie to him. If he did have some tie to the Doctor, she wanted to know what it was. "Sometimes my nightmares are so vivid that I have to paint them, in order to prove to myself that they aren't real."

He brought his fingers up to his chin as though he were examining an unexpected mold growth in a petri dish. _Could he be more pretentious?_ "Interesting... Tell me... Were you telepathically bound to this meta-crisis Doctor?"

"Yes, as much as I could have been, given the circumstances."

"Hmmm… You may still be of use to us. Come, bring the painting."

"Sod off! You expect me to follow you? You still haven't even told me who you are, or how you know the Doctor." Rose said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Who do you think I am?"

"I... I think you're a Time Lord... And since you're a pompous arse, I'm going to guess that you're a member of the High Council... But that's not possible, is it? The Doctor told me that Gallifrey was destroyed, yeah?"

"You are not as incompetent as you appear, Rose Tyler." He gestured toward the door.

"Ugh… I'm going to pretend that was a compliment." Internally, Rose asked the Tardis if she could trust this man. The ship hummed an indignant 'yes' but it felt more like 'if you must, he's so infuriating'. She turned her attention back to him and said: "I will go with you, but only because I'm bored and I need a change of scenery. Certainly not because of your bloody awful invitation."

"Very well." He pulled another piece of technology from his pocket and used it to levitate the painting for easier transport. "Shall we?"


	4. Accommodations

Rose had never seen another Tardis. This was a newer model than the one she was used to, but it didn't feel nearly as cozy and welcoming. Five other Time Lords stood around the central console, each with their own tasks for the flight. There was none of the manic hopping about from one control to the next like the Doctor had always done. It was entirely too ceremonial and refined for Rose's taste. Where was the excitement and spontaneity? Stuffy old Time Lords, she thought to herself.

When the ship landed, Rose stood up and headed for the door. The one she had dubbed the 'pompous arse' placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. The other five Time Lords filed out without a word.

"Can we get outta here or what?" She protested.

"In a moment... The others went to alert the President of your arrival. The Council was expecting the Doctor, and must be briefed on the human that was brought in his stead."

Rose sighed, exasperated. "Will you at least tell me your name now?"

"You may refer to me as the Chancellor."

"Can I ask you something then, Chancey?"

He frowned. "Not if the question involves calling me _Chancey_."

"Fine... _Mr. The Chancellor_... So if you're Time Lords, and have all this fancy schmancy tech… Why didn't you find us ages ago?"

"We tried to contact him back in, what I believe was, 2006 A.D. according to your Earth Gregorian calendar." He said.

"2006... Heh, that seems so long ago now. We called this universe 'Pete's world' back then... Yeah, the not-at-all human Doctor was here a few times that year."

"We sent him a transmission, but we got back an automated reply from his Tardis. It indicated that it was the wrong point in his timeline for him to hear from us."

"But the meta-crisis Doctor and I have been living here pretty much ever since. Why not contact us until now?" Rose rebutted.

"Our scanners only just recently registered the time signature of your ship."

"The time rotor of our cloned Tardis came online for the first time yesterday… The ship has been reconstructing itself from a coral strut ever since we got stranded in this universe."

"Ah… Yes, that would make sense." Something flashed on the console, and the Chancellor interpreted it as their cue to exit the ship. As he opened the door for her, he grumbled: "Pity, the time rotor wouldn't have actually worked."

"What'd'ya mean it wouldn't have worked?" Asked Rose innocently, as she exited the ship.

"No time travel in this universe, I'm afraid… It's a by-product of the Doctor freezing us as he did. But I digress, I am not the one to tell you of such things. Come, I will show you to the person that can."

"Ya know, you could have just tried talking to me nicely like that this morning…You didn't have to be a prat right from the start." She followed him into a hallway.

He made a cynical half grunt, half snorting sound, which may have been the closest he would ever get to laughter. "Perhaps, but humans are rarely worth the effort."

" _Seriously?_ " Rose was flabbergasted that he continued to insist on being so rude to her. Superior race indeed! Right as she was about to give him a piece of her mind, they were joined by a woman in a similar red robe and a high swooping gold collar.

"Ehem… I apologize for the severe lack of courtesy exhibited by my colleague. He never has been known for his tact…. Unlike you." The woman said.

The Chancellor excused himself with a curt bow, leaving the two women alone. Rose was confused. Rose didn't know this woman either, yet she presumed to know her. "I'm sorry?"

"I know a great deal about you, Rose Tyler. The Chancellor may not be aware of your role in history, but I am. You stopped an entire fleet of daleks, not once, but twice. For that, you have my eternal respect and gratitude."

The woman smiled at her warmly, and Rose liked her better already. "Forgive me, but who are you exactly?"

"Romanadvoratrelundar. But your Doctor gave me the name Romana… Recently, there was some… how should I put this... _unpleasantness_ between the Doctor, Rassilon and the Master back in your original universe. Long story. Suffice it to say, I have been asked to reprise my role as Lady President of Gallifrey."

"Huh? Why is Gallifrey in this universe? I thought that there was only one complete version of Gallifrey throughout the entire multiverse."

"That is true... And I shall answer all your questions shortly... But first let me show you to your quarters as, undoubtedly, you will end up staying with us for a while."

Romana lead her down the long, sun lit corridor. Impressive scarlet tapestries hung between the windows, each one filled with elaborate Gallifreyan symbols. Every rich, lovely surface Rose could see was meticulously carved or inlaid with even more opulent materials. It sort of reminded her of the time the Doctor had taken her to Versailles, except that this place was interspersed with futuristic alien technology. Romana stopped at the last door before the hallway opened into a magnificent space that looked as if it could hold anything from government hearings to grand balls.

"You are our guest of honor, thus, you shall stay in the room reserved for visiting emissaries."

Rose glanced through the door at the lavish accommodations. "I don't need all this, really. It's too much. I'm not even sure how long I will be staying."

"Nonsense. Make yourself comfortable and meet me in the Council Chambers when you are ready." She gestured to the ballroom at the end of the hall. "Take your time, my dear."

Rose placed her purse on one of the large credenzas, and took in her surroundings. Curious, she opened the door to the wardrobe. It was, as she suspected, bigger on the inside, which was entirely unnecessary. It only held two garments, both of them were the long robes that the Time Lords seemed so fond of. Rose might have put one on to garner more respect from said Time Lords, if they weren't a hideous goldenrod color. She wrinkled up her nose and closed the door.

Of course, the study-desk portion of the room was the most extravagant, bursting with books and technological tools. The bed was plain by comparison, which made sense, since Time Lords rarely slept. Flopping down on top of the covers, Rose realized how tired she was. After all, she had spent most of the previous night painting. She pulled her mobile from her pocket and set an alarm for 45 minutes. No harm in a quick kip, besides, Romana had told her to take her time.

...

They were running hand in hand through a bazaar filled with beautiful brightly colored sunshades. Rose had always loved the running, it was exhilarating. She wasn't sure why they were running exactly, but she was sure that they were in no danger. How could they be when the Doctor kept looking back at her and grinning jovially? His coat tails danced behind him. Terra-cotta buildings and market stands flew past as they ran. Metallic trinkets glinted in the sun. Alien merchants looked up to watch them pass.

"Where're we headed Doctor?"

His Chucks skidded to a halt in a cloud of sand. "We're going to… Ah! Here we go!" He pulled her into a shaded alleyway. "The Ultra Violet rays in this star system can be damaging to any fair skinned creature. Not so bad in short-term exposure, but in the long run they can cause some nasty burns and blisters and so on… Best play it safe, hmmm?"

"Don't you have any sunscreen in those bottomless pockets?"

"Well, yeah..." He said meekly. "But I'm down to my last tube of banana sunscreen. Besides, hiding out in a secluded alley can have its advantages, Rose Tyler."

"That so?" Rose grinned at him with her tongue peeking out.

The Doctor closed the distance between them, and held her up against the clay wall. "Mmmhmm… I'm particularly fond of the _secluded_ part."

He was about to kiss her, when Rose put her hands on his chest to hold him back. "Wait, hold up... Is the sunscreen banana scented? Or banana _flavoured_?"

"Both, as it happens. Wanna taste?" The ridiculous suggestion was accompanied by the equally ridiculous waggling of his eyebrows.

She pretended to gag. "Gah! No thanks!"

"Does that mean you wouldn't like the SPF 50 banana Chapstick I'm wearing either?" His lips pouted and his brown eyes welled up to a degree that would've been better suited on a forlorn puppy.

She shook her head and laughed. Grabbing the lapels of his pinstriped suit, Rose pulled his pouting lips against her own. Her tongue darted out across the union of their lips. He wasn't kidding about the flavoured Chapstick. Fortunately, it wasn't long before her tongue found his to taste instead. The Doctor had always tasted of tea and spice and dusty time, infinitely better than any Chapstick. (or sunscreen for that matter) They sighed into each others mouths, and deepened the kiss. One of his legs was placed between hers, and he used the leverage to hold her hips flush against the wall.

Rose could kiss him like this until every molecule unravelled at the end of the universe. But time never lingers as long as one would like, and their impassioned snogging was interrupted by the annoying buzz of her mobile. _Ignore it_ , she thought, _let it go to voicemail._ Unfortunately, the more it rang, the more her grip on the Doctor's lapels slipped through her fingers.

...

Begrudgingly, she opened her eyes and saw the phone vibrating incessantly on the night stand. When she chucked a pillow at the offending device, it fell to the floor along with a clamber of the fancy Gallifreyan nick-knacks that had been next to it.


	5. Hourglass

One item, which vaguely resembled an hourglass, had chipped when it tumbled to the ground. Rose rearranged the items carefully on the nightstand, just as they had been before, hoping that no one would notice. In a small panic, she realized that someone might come to check on her after a crash like that. She quickly straightened her hair and hustled into the Council Chambers where Romana was waiting for her.

The Council Chambers were nothing like the government buildings on Earth. A portion of it did have a conference table with semi-circle cut outs at each seat, but most of the room was open and airy. There were comfortable arm chairs strewn with pieces of literature, several huge video screens surrounded by assorted tech, and scrolls stacked in square cubbies along the walls. The ceiling was domed like the Pantheon, complete with an oculus that focused sunlight down to where Romana was sitting and reading. Upon hearing approaching footsteps, she placed her book aside. Her face lit up when she noticed it was Rose that had entered.

Rose sat across from her in one of the many arm chairs, eager to learn how she could be of assistance to the High Council. She knew in her heart that this was what she had been waiting for, this was how she was going to become useful to her Doctor once more.

"So my dear, where should we begin?" The Time Lady asked.

"The beginning of course." The human girl smiled, having easily forgotten about the silly hourglass.

Romana nodded. "Right you are. Rose, this may come as a shock to you, but this universe that you currently inhabit is nothing more than a _pocket universe_ , the largest pocket universe that has ever been created. While most pocket universes' are the size of a planet or smaller, and run on a time loop… this one is roughly 40% of the size of your original universe, and time runs linearly."

"You used the word _created_ , how was it created exactly?"

"This universe was spawned by the Doctor in an attempt to freeze and save Gallifrey back at the end of the Time War. It did not exist before that. An exact copy of your universe was made at that instant, and has persisted independently ever since. That is why this Earth is so similar to your own... It was not chance that brought you here originally. This universe is still tethered closely to the other, which is why the barrier between them is so weak and filled with fissures."

"So Gallifrey was not destroyed then?"

"Gallifrey will not have been destroyed, thanks to your future assistance… If that makes sense… We need to get a message to a past version of the Doctor, to help him understand how to save Gallifrey. It has to be his decision to create this pocket universe, but we must provide him with the information he needs to make it."

"I'd love to help and all, but why do you need me? You have an entire council of Time Lords and Ladies here. What can I possibly do, that you can't?"

"You have a mental bond to the Doctor."

"You mean the _meta-crisis_ Doctor." Rose corrected.

"Yes, the meta-crisis Doctor… However, when your bond with him came to an untimely end, your mind continued searching relentlessly for his presence. We believe that your telepathic link has transcended dimensions and resolved itself with the original Doctor… albeit subconsciously."

"What makes you think that?"

"Your painting, of course." Romana pointed to where her painting now hung on the Council Chamber wall. "It's very well made. What do you call it?"

Rose blushed at the praise. "Well, I used to call it 'No More Fear' because of the way it helped me cope with my dreams... But that didn't seem to fit with the image of chaos and destruction, ya know? So I changed the name to just be: 'No More'."

"Might I suggest the alternate title of 'Gallifrey Falls'? You see, this is exactly how Arcadia looked when the last sky trenches fell. Images of the Time War haunt all of the remaining Time Lords, including the Doctor. This painting is evidence that you have been channeling his nightmares and memories. How else could you have recreated it so vividly?"

"So all my dreams are…"

"The Doctor's dreams."

A surprised squeak managed to escape from Rose's lips. "He… _He still dreams of me?_ "

"Apparently… but, the point is, we need your telepathic link to contact him. We are frozen in this universe, and have no other way to reach him."

"I can't believe he still dreams of me… How long's it been for him since he left me on the beach?"

"It's hard to say… It depends on where in his timeline your dreams are tapping into… So, will you assist us Rose Tyler?"

"Always happy to help, that's me."

"Indeed." Romana's expression was filled with appreciation when she took Rose's hand. "Now, we believe we need to imbue you with part of the Time Vortex again, in order to make this happen."

"Like become Bad Wolf?" A patchy memory of how Bad Wolf had destroyed her leather clad Doctor made her heart race further.

"Not all of Bad Wolf, only part of it. You will have complete control, and your mind won't be seared during the process, I assure you. But the presence you call Bad Wolf will aid in protecting you from the Void when we project you through into the other universe."

"You mean, _I'll get to see the Doctor again?_ "

"A past version of him. But if you do this for us, we will find a way for you to see him again in the proper time line."

Rose had not quite finished computing that the not-at-all human Doctor still fancied her. Her mind had short circuited right there; but to be given the opportunity to be reunited with him? Rose felt dizzy. Upon seeing all the blood drain from Rose's face, Romana called for a cold glass of water and a warm blanket.


	6. Relocation

After a good lunch, Rose was thinking about the whole thing much more clearly. The good 'ol Doctor was still galavanting about in the other universe, and she could help him. Simple as that. She still had trouble wrapping her head around the concept of a pocket universe or how one could be created, but as with most of the unexplainable things in her topsy-turvy life, she accepted it.

Various telepathic sensors had been stuck to her head by the Time Lords. They claimed to be calculating the strength of the connection between her and the Doctor, as well as, the exact point in the Doctor's wonky timeline where the dreams were occurring. The technicians working with her said exceeding little, except to remind her to focus her thoughts on the most recent dream. Rose tried hard to concentrate on the less romantic parts of the dream, but it was difficult. The Chancellor stuck his head into the lab a few times to check on their progress, and make a few snarky comments about human attention span. But honestly, who could keep their mind from wandering for two hours straight? Time Lords included. Most of the time she found that the Doctor had a shorter attention span than she did, for crying out loud!

When the technicians finally seemed satisfied with the data they had collect, Rose returned to her suite. She was surprised to find her Tardis parked in the middle of the room, as well as, the Chancellor walking around it making notes on some sort of tablet device. Why did it always have to be that guy?

"What's going on?" Rose asked him.

"Your time ship is here."

"I can see that. How did you get it here?"

Without looking up from his tablet, he replied. "We relocated the remains of the meta-crisis Doctor to Gallifrey. The ship followed us."

"You did what?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

The Chancellor looked startled by her reaction, as though he had done nothing that warranted her anger. "We couldn't exactly leave a partially Gallifreyan specimen on Earth, now could we? It needs to be studied and then properly inhumed in accordance with Gallifreyan protocol."

Rose huffed. "Have I made it clear that I am _not_ particularly fond of you?"

"I believe you have, yes."

"Good, now get out of here!" She shooed him out of her room, and he complied with a swishing of red fabric.

Rose knew that she should have been livid pissed, or at the very least, saddened by what they had done. But something about burying her husband had never felt right to her. He deserved something more poetic, like having his ashes spread throughout the horsehead nebula so that one day he could coalesce with the other stardust and become part of a new solar system. She hoped that 'Gallifreyan protocol' involved something along those lines.

She sorely missed her beloved Doctor… _Human or Time Lord… Past, present, or future… Any version of him, all versions of him… They all had a place in her heart…_

The Tardis echoed her lament, but didn't sound too upset that they had moved him. If the ship wasn't upset, Rose knew that she shouldn't be either. No doubt the incorrigible sentient timeship would have fought the Chancellor tooth and nail, if she had felt that it was necessary.

Rose told the Tardis about her subconscious link to the other Doctor, and her reply was one of disbelief and joy. But when she got to the part about going into the other universe, the ship chirped sadly. The Tardis didn't want to be left alone, and Rose didn't blame her.

"You're coming with me!" She said to calm her friend. "Your heart is at least… as Bad Wolf. I'm not sure how it will work exactly. But I suppose we'll find out soon, yeah?"

The sound her ship made felt apprehensive; both about the prospect of revisiting Bad Wolf, and about how long they would get to stay in the other universe. If her link to the other Doctor was so weak that the Tardis had not even detected it, perhaps it wasn't strong enough for a full trans-universal jump.

"Hmm… Didn't think of that, but you might be right. I'm gonna go ask Romana about it. First, though, I'm gonna change into something lighter... Like, maybe some leggings?… A bit warm, Gallifrey is, huh? Compared with England anyways. No wonder those Time Lords keep such a low body temperature."

...

Romana was once again in the Council Chambers going over some data on one of those tablet things, when Rose sought her out.

"Rose! I was just about to come find you. The calculations for sending you into the other universe are almost complete. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Quick question. Will I get to travel with him again? Like, will I get to _stay_ there?"

"Umm… No… not exactly. Your projection into the other universe will be noncorporeal. Essentially, you'll be a hologram."

"Oh…" Rose frowned. It would have been impossible to mask her disappointment. Sourly, she mumbled. " _Like he was on that sodding beach..._ "

"Hmm? What's that?"

"Never mind… Don't worry 'bout it." She pinned a smile back on her face, for Romana's benefit. The last thing she wanted was for the Time Lady to think her ungrateful for this still tremendous opportunity.

Seeing him again _temporarily_ wasn't exactly what she had been hoping for, but it was certainly better than nothing. She could at least tell him about the dreams, so that he knew he could always communicate with her there if he needed to... _Although_ … Would he then try and repress the more romantically inclined dreams, if he knew that she was experiencing them with him? He had perpetually held back emotions when they had traveled together in their customary (less-than-platonic) way. Would his blasted self-inflicted guilt get the best of him again? Rose could still hear his words… _Does it need saying?_

It must have been that little bit of Donna that had given his meta-crisis duplicate the courage to let go of all his past transgressions and live in the moment. Always the impulsive one, Donna was. Rose would be forever grateful to her for bestowing her husband with that little extra bit of romance.

Rose had been absorbed in her own thoughts, but next to her, Romana pressed on with the task at hand. "Now, about the calculations. It appears that I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that your telepathic link to the Doctor is very fragile… We can only propagate one and a half projections into his dimension safely. What that means is: If you still want to see the version of the Doctor that will recognize you, that interaction will have to immediately follow the one we need you to make, without returning here first. Does that make sense?"

"So one right after the other?"

"Precisely, we really want to keep our word about giving you that second projection... The good news is that for the 10th incarnation of the Doctor, the one you share your dreams with, the timelines are aligning ideally... I believe you first met the Doctor in his 9th form, with the ears and leather coat. The version of the Doctor that we need you to speak to is his form from _before_ that one. He thinks of himself as the _War Doctor_ instead of with a regeneration number."

"Ok… I'm with you so far." _For the most part_ , Rose thought to herself.

"When you meet with the War Doctor, your 10th Doctor will be there too, along with his 11th form, but neither of them will be able to see or communicate with you… We are lucky, because your most recent dream connection with the 10th Doctor occurs the night before he goes to meet with the War Doctor. The moment that the 10th Doctor leaves the discussion with the War Doctor, that is when you will appear to him."

"So only one of them will be able to see me at a time, but there will be 3 of them there? I think I'm going to have a headache... Ok, if I will be a hologram, how will I bring the painting with me? He needs to see it, yeah?"

"If everything goes according to plan, Gallifrey will eventually be returned to its proper universe. Once it is in the correct universe, taking it back in time will be a simple matter. I merely need to display it someplace prominent with instructions for whomever happens to be in power at that time. They will undoubtedly get it to the future version of the Doctor, knowing full well that a paradoxical time loop depends on it… There is also a whole Time Lock thing to contend with, but I won't bore you with the details."

"Confusing lot, time travel." Rose noted.

"It can be sometimes, yes. But it's worth it, don't you think?"

Romana grinned at her, and Rose returned it readily. "Oh yes! Where's the fun in boring old linear progression?"

"Hah! I'm starting to see why the Doctor likes you so much." Something on Romana's tablet flashed and displayed some swirling Gallifreyan words. "Splendid, it looks like my technicians have everything set up for your projections. Are you rested enough to attempt it this evening?"

"Today? Your chaps work fast! I don't even know what you want me to tell this War Doctor when I get there."

"You don't have to know. The Time Vortex infusion program we wrote is designed to interface with a piece of technology that is already in the other universe, called _The Moment._ Just let Bad Wolf do the talking with the War Doctor. When you are alone with the 10th Doctor, then the real you can take over."

"Alright then, let's give it a go."

Just then, the Chancellor rushed into the Council Chambers. "Madame President, there seems to be a problem with the Time Expansion Inhibitor!"


	7. No time like the present

**Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Heh (Wait... Like the title... Get it?) I always have a hard time on chapters that borrow dialogue directly from the show. Credit to Steven Moffat for those pieces included here.**

 *****WARNING: Contains spoilers for Day of the Doctor*****

* * *

Should the mission to contact the Doctor fail, then Pete's world would have never been created in the first place. Theoretically, it would blink out of existence. If that was true, then the mission had not yet been compromised by Rose's actions, because they were all still standing around in her guest suite at the Citadel. It was, however, entirely possible that the High Council of Time Lords had some way to protect themselves against a classic 'Grandfather Paradox', at least temporarily. Whatever the case, Rose felt guilty.

The Time Expansion Inhibitor turned out to be that silly hourglass thing which she had accidentally broken. She should have known that there was no such thing as a purely decorative piece when it came to Gallifreyan artifacts. The Time Lords had not seemed upset at her when she immediately confessed to the crime, they had instead all gathered on the other side of her suite and conferred amongst themselves, in their native language.

Rose pretended not to care that they were discussing her, and focused instead on the half constructed Dimensional Coaxial Fusion Device (as they called it). It was a very complex looking apparatus currently occupying the center of her room. Little spinny things whirred around inside of it, and several fat cables extended from it into her Tardis but were, as of yet, unattached.

Eventually, the Time Lords stopped their whispering and Romana approached her. "Do you remember roughly how long your mind held onto the Vortex the last time you became Bad Wolf?"

"The Doctor told me it was 10 minutes, from when I arrived at the Game Station."

Romana's expression was completely without mirth. "Your human body adapted to the pressure of containing the Vortex for 10 minutes, by extending your life roughly 357.43 years... 10 minutes resulted in 357.43 years... That is a staggering ratio, especially for a species that has only evolved to live for 80 years in total. The Time Expansion Inhibitor's purpose was to prevent that effect."

"But you can fix it, yeah? The hourglass?"

"No… Not without time travel. I'm sorry Rose... Your projection is still of utmost importance to us, but we cannot force you to undertake this endeavor given the consequences. It has to be your decision."

Without a thought, Rose replied. "If I don't go, Gallifrey will have been destroyed. That's completely unacceptable. As I see it, there's no decision to be made here. You will not die if I can prevent it."

"So shall it be." Romana nodded to her comrades and they resumed work on the apparatus. "Thank you Rose Tyler. May you always been known as the _Undying Hope of Gallifrey._ " She bowed her head solemnly and rested her hand on Rose's shoulder. Rose secretly blanched at the word _'undying'_.

The other Time Lords hurried about the room, finishing preparations in a hushed reverence for her sacrifice. _It wasn't that big of a sacrifice was it? Their entire race was nearly immortal. Besides, now that she knew her dreams were linked to the Doctor, she could live vicariously through them and be happy for a long time. Couldn't she?_

Unbidden thoughts of Captain Jack Harkness filled her mind. The way Bad Wolf had prolonged his life indefinitely had caused him so much anguish. Was Jack the Face of Boe as her husband had once conjectured? If so, would she be doomed to the same fate: to become an old, lonely, disembodied head traveling the galaxies confined to a tub of goo? Or would she become more like Cassandra, a flap of skin stretched too thin to be able to experience any compassion or joy? This was not a good train of thought if she hoped to maintain her resolve.

Fortunately, a telepathic shriek from the Tardis, helped to clear her thoughts. Rose abandoned her perch on the edge of the bed, and strode through the big blue police box door. The Chancellor was trying to remove the floor grating beneath the console, but the time ship wanted none of it.

She tried to calm her ship as best she could. "The Chancellor needs to hook up these cables to your heart so that you can go with me into the other universe. I would do it myself, but I don't know how. Please work with him?"

The Tardis relented and released the grating with a sneer, but not before giving the Chancellor a substantial shock. The startled Time Lord gave Rose a bit of a dirty look when she was unable to suppress a giggle.

The fast working Time Lords soon had the projection device up and running. When it was finished, there was one lead extending from the heart of her Tardis and a matching lead coming off of the main part of the device in her room. All Rose would need to do was touch the two leads together and complete the circuit. It seemed easy enough.

Romana had been pacing the room anxiously for the better part of the last hour. More than likely, she was concerned that if given too much time to reflect on it, Rose would reverse her decision. It's not that she was trying to rush Rose, but the sooner she sent Rose into the other universe, the sooner she would be certain of the fate of her people. The Chancellor handed Romana the two finished leads, which she accepted dutifully.

"It's time. Are you ready?"

Rose shrugged. "No time like the present."

Romana laughed in spite of herself. "I like you, Rose. I want you know that you are welcome to spend the rest of your days here on Gallifrey with us. It can't be easy living as long as you do on Earth, and having no one to talk to about it."

"Thank you, Romana. I think I'd like that."

"Good luck, and remember to let Bad Wolf do the talking to the War Doctor. You might be disoriented when you first get through, but try not to fight Bad Wolf's presence in your mind."

Rose took the two wires from the Time Lady's outstretched hands. The nearby Tardis tried to hide its trepidation from her, as she sent waves of telepathic reassurance. After a deep cleansing breath, Rose carefully brought the two ends together. An electric arc leapt between them with a blinding flash, and sent her head reeling.

...

It was bright and hot... Was that real? Or was that residual energy from being thrust into another universe? Nope... It was definitely bright and hot. Beyond that, all she could feel was someone repeating 'no more, no more' in the back of her mind... Oh and a box.

A beautiful, brass inlaid, clockwork box... She was sitting on the box. Box... Box... Box... What a funny word, box... Moment! Now that's a lovely word... Moment and Wolf, both lovely... Bad Wolf specifically...Bad Wolf integrating with the Moment... Downloading... Downloading... Program installation complete. Commence Moment interface dialogue.

"Hello? Is somebody there?"

"It's nothing. It's just a wolf." She heard herself say.

...

"You're the interface?" The gruff older man obviously felt ill at ease with the entire situation.

Honestly, Rose felt much the same way. It frightened her to hear words coming out of her mouth that were not her own. Her mouth just kept right on talking without her permission. "They must have told you the Moment had a conscience. Hello! Oh, look at you. Stuck between a girl and a box. Story of your life, eh, Doctor?"

 ** _Doctor!? This is the Doctor?!_**

"You know me?" He asked.

 ** _Oh Doctor! I missed you so much. I wish you could hear me!_**

"I hear you. All of you, jangling around in that dusty old head of yours. I chose this face and form especially for you. It's from your past. Or possibly your future. I always get those two mixed up."

"I don't have a future." The man looked miserable, completely resigned to his fate. It tore at Rose's heart to see him this way.

 _ **Yes you do! We have a future together!**_

Rose mustered all of her strength to talk to him, to force her own words out of her lips. _"I think I'm called Rose Tyler."_ Bad Wolf pushed back. "No." She felt like she was screaming at the top of her lungs. _"Yes!"_ _Why is communicating so difficult? It felt like her words were pre-programmed. Oh, shit, they are supposed to be programmed!_ Let the Bad Wolf program do the talking, that's what Romana had said, she remembered now. Rose choked back her tears and gave up control. "No, sorry, no, no, in this form, I'm called Bad Wolf. Are you afraid of the big bad wolf, Doctor?"

"Stop calling me Doctor!" He snapped.

"That's the name in your head."

 ** _And the pain in your eyes._** Rose thought to herself. **_I'd know it anywhere._**

The old man shook his head. "It shouldn't be. I've been fighting this war for a long time. I've lost the right to be the Doctor."

 ** _Dear man... Have courage... You're the one to save us all._**

"Then you're the one to save us all."

...

"You're not actually suggesting that we change our own personal history?" Said the pinstriped Tenth Doctor.

"We change history all the time. I'm suggesting far worse." The Eleventh, floppy haired, version of him replied. "Gentlemen, I have had four hundred years to think about this. I've changed my mind." And with that, he aimed his sonic screwdriver at the Moment and the red button descended back into the box.

The War Doctor was still confused. "There's still a billion billion daleks up there, attacking."

"Yeah, there is. There is." Eleven, nodded.

"But there's something those billion billion daleks don't know." Ten added.

"Because if they did, they'd probably send for reinforcements."

Clara's eyes widened. "What? What don't they know?"

"This time, there's three of us." Eleven looked so pleased with himself, that his infectious hope spread across all of their faces.

"Oh! Oh, yes, that is good. That is brilliant!" Exclaimed the Warrior.

"Ha, ha, ha! I've been thinking about it for centuries." The Eleventh Doctor whooped and cheered with the Tenth. Rose thought that they might start dancing together. Peas in a pod, those two were.

The Warrior turned back toward Rose, eye's sparking. "She didn't just show me any old future, she showed me exactly the future I needed to see."

"Now you're getting it." Rose heard herself say involuntarily. She even felt Bad Wolf smiling.

"Oh, Bad Wolf girl, I could kiss you." The War Doctor beamed.

Rose laughed and accidently blurted out from behind Bad Wolf: _"Yeah, that's going to happen."_

Her pinstriped Tenth Doctor cocked his head to one side. "Sorry, did you just say Bad Wolf?"

 ** _Yep!_**

Rose wanted nothing more than to reach for him then, but it wouldn't have done any good. He still couldn't see or hear her. Patience, she told herself. As soon as they had finished sealing Gallifrey's fate, he would be able to see her. The mission was almost accomplished. Rose could already feel the energy from the second projection welling up in her belly… or was that butterflies?

...

Gallifrey stands!

To have said that day was the most emotionally volitile day of his long life would have been a colossal understatement. He stood side by side with every version of himself he had ever known after simultaneously re-living the last miserable days of the Time War and re-writing history to save Gallifrey. Repressed memories from the younger men next to him, assaulted him; saving Gallifrey over and over again in different bodies, each time being forced to forget. Pity he would have to repress it all soon, as well.

Despite being completely drained of energy, his step was noticeably lighter when he returned to his ship; one, in a long line of blue police boxes. In front of the next box, he saw the man with the bow-tie that he would become, and envied him for not having to forget. The Doctor decided that he would sleep tonight with the memories intact, to allow himself one night's rest, free of the nightmares. Tomorrow he would forget properly, but tonight he would dream.

He closed the Tardis door behind him, but kept the ambient lights low since he was so terribly exhausted. Perhaps he would dream of Rose again, without being interrupted by daleks this time. Yes, that would be good. Uninterrupted Rose-dreams were the best dreams. He could almost hear her voice already.

 _"Hello."_

Wait, was he dreaming? That sounded way too real, even for his brilliant imagination to have conjured up. He whirled around and caught sight of the little pink and yellow human sitting casually on his jump seat. The Doctor froze mid stride, and both his hearts stopped beating.


	8. Sharing

"Hello." Rose said, from the jump seat. When the Doctor spun around and made eye contact with her, she waggled her fingers at him awkwardly.

He stood motionless and swallowed hard. "It was you… Back there, with the Moment, Bad Wolf. It was you."

"Yeah…" Rose blushed under the intensity of his gaze. "I wanted so badly to talk to you, but the way this projection thingy works, I can only be seen by one version of you at a time."

"Projection… So were I to run up and hug you…" He did move closer, but his features were still riddled with disbelief.

"Your arms would go right through me."

"But it's really you? I've not gone mad?"

"Yes, it's really me. Promise."

The Doctor sat down on the seat next to her, and cradled his face in his hands and let himself fall apart. "Oh Rose, you have no idea how much I needed this, needed some good news, _needed you_... I've had no companions since Donna, only misery and solitude… Until today."

Rose tried to rest her hand on his back but couldn't feel the fabric of his suit beneath her fingertips, so she folded her hands in her lap. "You really need a companion, Doctor. But please know that I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what. Forever, remember?"

"I wish that were true, I really do. I mean, it's fantastic that you're here now, but if you're a projection, then you're only here temporarily."

"I know it's hard to believe that one's luck can change. I've had my share of solitude and loss recently too, but I discovered something yesterday; something brilliant!" Rose paused for emphasis. "Our minds are linked subconsciously across the universes. Do you know what that means? We dream together, you and I! You can always talk to me in our shared dreams."

"That would be a beautiful sentiment, if only it were scientifically possible."

"Impossible, huh? Our connection is the only reason I was able to project into this universe at all." The Doctor took his face from his hands to look at her, but remained hunched over with his elbows on his knees. Rose tried to think of some evidence to convince him further. "Always the sceptic, you… So, proof… Hmm… Oh, I know! Our most recent dream together involved an alien bazaar and banana flavoured sunscreen."

His brown eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped open. Eventually, the Doctor smacked his forehead with his hand and then raked it anxiously through his hair. "Blimey… So all my dreams _of_ you were actually _with_ you? Oh... I uh... _Oh_... You mean?... Including that time when I… _Oh bugger!_ The things I've done to you in my dreams... Rassilon Rose, I'm so _soooooo_ sorry. I had no idea."

"Done _with_ me... Not _to_ me. Keep in mind, they were my dreams too."

"It's not right, though… You're a married woman."

"Married to a piece of _you_ , incase you forgot. I can't help but think that he would have wanted me to help you; would have wanted you to be with me... Now that he can't be..."

A light switch flicked in his brain regarding the fate of his duplicate. But still, he frowned and shook his head. "Rose, I'm just a foolish old man, clinging hopelessly to the memory of a little pink and yellow human. What you must think of me… I'm so ashamed."

Rose huffed. "Listen mate, I was married to your exact duplicate for nearly 180 years, so nothing we did in our dreams came as a surprise to me. _Ok?_ No embarrassment necessary. I'm bound to you… _Every version of you_ … No matter what." She crossed her arms, daring him to try and contradict her.

The Doctor raised one eyebrow as he considered Rose. An internal battle was raging behind his eyes. It was clear that he had missed her miserably, and the conviction with which he was denying her affection was visibly dissipating. After a long moment in silence, he straightened his posture and a smile began to tug at the corner of his mouth. "Really? So _nothing_ surprised you? Huh... I might have to work on that." He winked. "I really do have banana sunscreen in my pocket, ya know."

"I don't doubt that."

"You're supposed to make some cheeky joke about banana's in pockets, as an innuendo for male arousal."

"Oh, am I now?" Rose stuck out her tongue as she grinned. "Already made the leap from crippling guilt to flirting, have you? And in record time too!"

"It just always came so easily with you, Rose Tyler."

" _'Came so easily'_ , eh?" She snickered. "Can I make that cheeky comment now, then? Something along the lines of _'that's what she said'_."

"Hah!... You know what I meant; the genuine deep-seated happiness which results in unabashed flirtation."

"Suuuuuure." Rose quipped.

His face was suddenly serious. "No really, you're the only one that could ever ease the guilt. And perhaps, subconsciously, this is why… All of this… You saved Gallifrey... More amazingly, you saved me, again." The depth of his sincerity made Rose's chest feel tight. She fought to keep her eyes from welling up, lest she ruin this beautiful moment.

She tried to reach for his cheek, but again, felt nothing but air. "You won't remember any of this will you?"

He held his hand to where hers was. "Don't worry, I will remember that it's really you in my dreams… And I will try to maintain more hope for myself… But I will have to repress the memories of saving Gallifrey until my next incarnation."

"The one with the floppy hair and strong chin?"

He nodded. "Don't let the over-sized sonic or the fez fool you… He's a good lad… I become a good lad."

"You already are a good guy, Doctor. Always have been, always will be."

"Now Rose, you should know by now that, with me, flattery will get you... well, pretty much everywhere... But it's not fair to exploit my weaknesses when I'm in such a vulnerable state."

She rolled her eyes as he preened. " _Yeah right._.. Ok, no flattery. That reminds me, your hair is looking a bit flat today."

"Oi! Not my fault, _not my fault!_ The Tardis was out of my favourite hair gel this morning. Was gonna go pick some up, but then I got caught up with you lot... Lets go back to the flattery, oh yes, flattery sounds good right about now."

Rose laughed, she couldn't have been more pleased that their banter hadn't changed after so much time apart. The stories and anecdotes flowed effortlessly between them, all the while, she tried not to be paranoid about the passing hours and their effect on her lifespan. The Doctor told her about having to erase Donna's memory, about Sarah Jane's wedding, and about his travels alone. Rose told the Doctor about the massive pocket universe he had just created, about Gallifrey being frozen in Pete's world, and about how the Time Lords had sent her projection through the universes.

"I can't believe you're staying at the Citadel, on _Gallifrey!_ That's brilliant! A right ponce that Chancellor is, though. Never much liked him myself, always played too close to the book, if you ask me... Now Romana, she's a fine lady, not to mention an old friend of mine."

"Yeah, I like her..." Rose said, as she glanced at the relative time displayed on the Tardis console. They had already been talking for more than three hours, and she had no idea how long she had let Bad Wolf talk to the War Doctor. _Three hours divided by ten minutes, multiply that by 357 years._

The Time Lord noticed her sudden detachment. "Something wrong?"

"Not exactly, but can I ask you something?… How long has it been for you? Since you last saw me, that is?"

"Since the Meta-crisis regeneration? Eighteen years, two months, and twelve days."

"Strange… That's exactly how long it's been since the your duplicate passed… Er… Since I started having vivid dreams with you."

"Hmmm, you don't look as though you've aged eighteen years." He said.

"Thanks, but it's actually been almost two hundred years for me… Those ten minutes that I spent infused with the Time Vortex back on the Game Station? It extended my life by a few hundred years."

The Doctor put on his glasses and scrunched up his nose as he examined the faint creases in her face. "Fascinating… Like Jack, I suppose… Remarkable, really."

"Yeah, so the only way the Council could send me across the Void today was by fusing me with Bad Wolf again. Which means that the longer I spend in this universe, the longer I will be forced to live."

"The curse of longevity." He said sympathetically, as he took his glasses off and put them away. "You've already outlived all your friends and family, haven't you?"

"It wasn't too bad, until… until I lost you, the half-human part of you…" Rose looked down at her shoes. "Romana said I could stay with her on Gallifrey for however long my life ends up being now. But..."

"But you need to go." He finished for her. The Doctor stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well... As luck would have it, I was just about to get some sleep, long day, you see. Would you do me the honor of meeting me in my dreams? I promise there will be no daleks tonight."

"So, you're alright with sharing dreams with me?" Rose lifted her eyes to meet his, expectantly.

He rocked on his heels, pursing his lips in a smug smile. " _Weeeeelllll_ … Not only would it make both of our long lives slightly less tedious, but Henry David Thoreau once said: _'If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.'_ "

The human girl stood up and faced him. "Eloquent, but I think a quote from Yoko Ono might be more relevant. _'A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.'_ "

"Well put, Rose Tyler…. Oh, hey, do you want to hear the real story of how the Beatles broke up? It involves a fugitive Slitheen that had gone into hiding on Earth as a walrus. Made a huge mess of things…"

"Ehem, Doctor…"

"Right, sorry… You know how I hate goodbyes."

"It's not goodbye. You'll see me again as soon as you fall asleep." Rose reassured him before she began to fade, even though her own heart was aching too. "I love you."

* * *

 **Plenty more to come, one more big twist.**


	9. Prove It

When the nauseating falling sensation finally ceased, Rose collapsed onto her hands and knees. Large tears fell from her eyes straight down onto the plush carpet beneath her. She trembled when Romana tried to lay a comforting hand on her back.

Gently she ventured to ask. "Is it done, then?"

When Rose nodded, Romana gestured for the other Time Lords to leave the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Rose retched up the contents of her wibbly-wobbly stomach before pulling herself into a ball on the floor. She heard the sloshing of an unknown liquid followed by a fizzing sound. A bubbly elixir was placed in front of her. She eyed it warily.

"Drink. It will help you to feel better."

Rose sat up enough to down part of the sweet tasting Gallifreyan remedy, but she continued to shake.

"Is there anything else I can get for you, my dear?" Asked Romana, her voice was filled with concern. "Omph!" The Time Lady was startled by the sudden fierce hug she received from the motion sick human, but she quickly returned it.

"Thank you." Was all that Rose could manage to say.

"Come now. Let's get you into bed so that you can recuperate properly."

...

 _The test was today? How could she have forgotten about the test?!_

A thick packet was placed in front of her, and at the top it read: _'Colonial Britain's Impact on Contemporary Indian Politics: a Comprehensive Exam'._

What the heck? Had they even gone over this in class? Come to think of it, when was the last time she had even attended this class? Had she been skipping classes to hang out with Jimmy again? _Shit._

The teacher at the front of the room said. "I hope you all have studied, this test will account for 70% of your grade. Please take out your number 2 pencils and begin."

Rose looked down at her pencil… _Number 3?!_ Where on Earth did she get a number 3 pencil? _Do they even make those?_ In a panic, she reached for her bookbag to get a different pencil. Well, atleast she _was_ going to reach for her bookbag, if it hadn't mysteriously vanished… _Along with all her clothes!_

Rose flushed and looked around the room. Fortunately, no one else had noticed yet, they were all too engrossed in their exams. Hmm… If she could sprint to the door, maybe no one would have time to look up. She could use her exam paper as a temporary cover. She wasn't going to pass this test anyway, so it may as well serve a practical purpose.

Just as she was psyching herself up for her escape, an unmistakable mechanical groaning noise filled the classroom. Astonished, the rest of her classmates gaped up at the newly formed police box. Thankfully, the Tardis had just materialized halfway between her desk and the door. A very gallant looking Doctor emerged holding a bouquet of number 2 pencils and a fluffy pink robe. Rose lept out of her seat, grabbed the robe, and dashed into the safety of the time ship.

"Hold on! Don't you want to finish your test?" He followed after her.

"Not a chance! I've never studied British-Indo political relations. I was going to fail." Rose wrapped the robe around her and synched it up tightly.

"Oh I see, this is supposed to be a _bad_ dream… Well, should I present a lecture on the subject? That way, if you have this dream again you'll be prepared. Sound good?" The Doctor adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "Ehem… I believe it was in 1806 when the English East India Company established their first permanent settlement in what is now the state of Gujarat..."

"Please stop, ta. Wouldn't make any difference anyways. The test is always going to be over something that I haven't studied... Wait a tick. You've really never had that dream before?"

"I've studied everything worth knowing." He said with a cocky swagger toward her.

"Okay, smartass... What about when you were younger? at the Academy or whatever?"

"Why wouldn't I have studied for a test? I don't understand. And why were you naked? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but being naked doesn't seem quite conducive for test taking."

"Wow, you're really not human at all, are you?"

"Of course I'm not! Don't be absurd. I told you on day one that I wasn't."

"Heh… Not what I meant, exactly. S'just that all humans have this dream, and saying that you don't get it might be the most alien thing you've ever said. It may not seem as frightening as the Time War, but this dream does haunt my species." Rose giggled.

"I see. Peculiar indeed, that… Naked test taking, ha!... But I suppose, since I've subjected you to my nightmares for so many years, it's only fair that I witness one of yours. Past-due, really... I wonder if your nightmare was finally able to come through, because my own are quelled for the moment." Playfully self-conscious, the Doctor scratched the back of his neck and took another step closer to her. "I haven't exactly erased the memory of saving Gallifrey, yet. I wanted a night alone with you, without daleks. Is that selfish?"

"Not at all. If I had my way, you'd never have those nightmares again."

"Well… Now that I know it's really you here with me, I think it's going to help drastically. I can't guarantee that those nightmares will never happen again, though..."

"I don't expect you to, Doctor. And… S'alright, so long as we still get to have the good dreams together too."

"And what, _exactly_ , do you consider to be a good dream, Rose Tyler? _Hmmmmm?_ " He raised one eyebrow suggestively and half-quirked his smile. The distance between them had been reduced to practically nothing.

"I… um…" Rose looked away and blushed. She didn't know what to say. True, they had been sharing dreams for eighteen plus years without knowing it; but the difference was that now they did. To make things more complicated, this was the _original_ Doctor standing in front of her. He didn't share her memories of 180 years of marriage, and yet… here he was looking at her just as besotted and just as nervous as her husband had been her on their first dates. _A second chance at the same love story, was that what this could be? Could she really be so lucky?_ Her heart swelled with the possibilities, and she blushed even deeper.

"Something wrong? I almost never see you bashful." He sounded a bit crestfallen. His ego was the shield he showed the worlds, but Rose knew how fragile he could be when he let his walls down. "I thought that this was what you wanted. Have I gone and blundered this all up again?"

"Daft alien." Rose laughed briefly and crashed her lips into his.

He drew a quick surprised breath through his nose before he relaxed into the kiss. Standing on her tip toes, she wound her arms around his neck. The Doctor's hands hovered a few centimeters away from her waist, for a heartbeat, until he let himself touch her. He held her gingerly at first, as though he were afraid that she might dissolve into a hologram again.

To encourage him, Rose raked a hand through his perfectly tousled hair. She was met with a soft moan of appreciation as he pulled her closer still. Their lips and tongues moved perfectly together and, when they broke apart, the Doctor was already panting. He rested his forehead against hers and let his respiratory bypass take over, so that he could catch his breath.

"Rose… I wanted to kiss you everyday that we traveled together."

He meant it to sound like an affectionate and charming confession, but Rose wanted more and nipped at the tender skin on the pulse point of his neck. Finally, the right words came to her. " _Prove it,_ Doctor."

Those sort of breathily worded challenges had always driven his half-human counterpart mad. Given his competitive streak, Rose surmised that this version of him would react much the same way. Without fail, the Doctor responded with a guttural growl and dove back into their fervid snogging. She soon found herself backed up against the wall of the console room. His deft hands had just begun to wander away from her waist when he broke their kiss once more to loosen his tie.

"I regret not being with you when we had the chance. Not a day has passed that I haven't regretted it… That I haven't missed you." His voice was lower now and his eyes were darkening. He nuzzled his nose against the side of her neck.

It was almost cruel of her to utilize the knowledge from her two centuries of experience seducing his double; but the more that this Doctor responded the same way he had, the less she could resist. Rose grinned mischievously and repeated: " _Prove it._ "

This time he whimpered helplessly into her hair as he fought the urge to grind against her. "Rose... Rose, I shouldn't have to prove that I fantasized about you every night. You know that to be the truth."

"Then show me how much you've wanted me."

His lips returned to hers instantly, roughly. When he pressed himself against her with all the heart-wrenching longing he still felt from their time apart, the wall behind her dematerialized. They fell intertwined to the grating on the floor, which should have been jarring but, as could be the nature with dreams, it felt seamless and clandestine.

Rose's robe fluttered open when her back hit the floor. The Doctor divested himself of his pinstriped jacket and began trying to unbutton his oxford without leaving her lips. Rose attempted to help him, but in one swift movement he pinned both of her hands above her head, in one of his. Straddling her on his knees, he continued to fumble with his clothing. The blasted oxford proved impossible to remove with one hand, so he abandoned it and unfastened his fly and kicked off his pants and trousers instead.

"Show me what you wanted to do to me all those years ago." Rose wanted him to lose control. He so rarely lost his composure, that it was intoxicating when he did.

Keeping her hands firmly held above her head, the Doctor trailed his lips down her cheek and neck to her collar bone. Moving downward in that way allowed him to move his legs in between hers. Rose brought her knees up on either side of his hips. The hem of his shirt tickled her belly as he lowered himself onto her. In sharp contrast to the cool of the rest of his body, she could feel the heat radiating from his arousal... achingly close to where she needed him to be.

"Doctor..." She pleaded.

Before his name had finished leaving her lips, he was taking her... Passionately and deeply taking her... The remaining walls of the Tardis fell away. The blue, black, and violet waves of the time vortex flashed around them as they writhed on the floor; making love for as long as the universes would allow.


	10. Growing Older

Thus were the way of her dreams. Rose would meet up with the Doctor, they would come together in a torrent of passion and then spend the afterglow talking about his latest adventures. The more nights they shared in this way, the more control they garnered over their dreams. The Doctor could show her images of the more beautiful planets he visited, or replay important interactions with people to get her interpretation. In return, Rose could send him waves of affection and reassurance. What little she could divulge of her day to day life, without giving away any spoilers related to the saving of Gallifrey, she did. For the most part, she was content to listen to him talk.

At one point, Romana asked Rose if she wanted to know what her revised life expectancy was. Rose had a vague idea what it would be, but she decided that it was better not to know for sure. She would live for a ridiculously long time. So long in fact, that the exact number of years seemed irrelevant. What concerned her more, was that she might outlive the Time Lord version of her Doctor as well.

That issue hit especially hard when the Doctor regenerated. She knew it was going to happen eventually, but she didn't think it would be so soon. There had been a few nights without him, but that was hardly unusual since he slept so infrequently. What was unusual, was the ambiance of the next dream they did share. The madness and excitement that had always been part of his mind had dulled. In its place, was a comfortable weariness that is usually associated with age. His soul felt older but his face looked younger.

"Ehem… _uh_ … Hi… _er_ … Hello, Rose Tyler."

"Doctor! What happened?!"

Worried, Rose rushed over to embrace him. The Doctor stumbled backward a bit, but she caught him by the elbow of his tweed jacket. The man that had always been so light on his feet was a touch clumsy this time around. It was endearing. She couldn't help but feel charmed by his new persona already.

The Doctor told her about the slow death via radiation and how it gave him a chance for a farewell tour of his companions, including her. It bothered her that he had been in so much pain and she had no idea that it was even happening. There had to be a way that the other Time Lords could monitor him via their connection. She had to be able to help him some how the next time this sort of thing happened. She hoped that her younger, silly self had at least given him _some_ comfort on that New Year's eve.

The Doctor also told her about Wilf and the Master, and how he was forced to kill Rassilon. Internally, Rose remembered what Romana had said about some 'unpleasantness', but she filed the memory away as something to bring up later after he knew about Gallifrey. She longed to tell him about her studies in the immense Citadel Library, and about how her painting had transformed her into a minor celebrity among the Time Lord youth. Romana was even teaching her to write in Gallifreyan. Now that he had regenerated, perhaps she would be able to tell him soon. She couldn't wait for this floppy haired lad to go off and meet with the War Doctor and save Gallifrey. He deserved to recapture that hope, and be able to hold on to it permanently.

...

...

"Sooooooo…. Remember that River Song lady I've told you about? The one I met in the library a while back? Aparently I'm married to her... Not sure when that happened, or why, but it certainly is… interesting. My future, her past."

"Hah!... Can't wait to hear how that happened!"

"Really? You're not jealous?"

"She can have you for a few days, but I'm the one you'll dream about every night forever." Rose winked. "If anything, she should be jealous of me."

...

...

"Amy and Rory finally got married!"

"About bloody time. Those two are like a dysfunctional romance novel."

...

...

"So River _shot_ you?… Wait, wait, wait… Can we go over River's supposed timeline again? I need to take better notes."

It was at that point that Rose began keeping a detailed diary, two actually; one for the Doctor and one for herself. She did this partly because the Doctor's life and companions had gotten so wibbly-wobbly, and partly because she didn't want to forget everything that had happened to her at the Citadel before she could even tell him about it.

...

...

 _ **After 10 Years Living on Gallifrey:** Rose was fluent in Gallifreyan._

 _ **After 75 Years Living on Gallifrey:** Rose had read every piece of human literature in the Citadel library._

 _ **After 110 Years Living on Gallifrey:** Romana asked Rose to become the first human to serve on the High Council. She accepted the position with grace._

 _ **After 290 Years Living on Gallifrey:** Rose had become a renowned artist in as many as 8 different star systems._


	11. The Eleventh Hour

One spring day, after 292 years, it finally happened. Rose could feel the change in him as soon as she drifted off into their connection. The self-loathing that had been mounting within him was dispersed like a dandelion blown away in the wind. She found him lying on his back in the grass, hands behind his head, looking up at an azure sky.

"Splendid day, is it not?" The Doctor hummed.

"It is." Rose laid down next to him, but kept her eyes trained on his face.

"Gallifrey. Falls. No. More." He said deliberately, as if he were trying to wrap his mind around every unbelieveable syllable. After a few moments of silence, he added: "I saw it, you know."

"Saw what?"

"Your painting... of the Battle at Arcadia." He said it so matter-of-factly, but she couldn't recall telling him about the painting when he was in his last form.

"How did you know it was mine?"

"After bidding farewell to my other incarnations, I returned to the under gallery where it is currently being kept. I had time to reflect on the piece while I talked with the curator there... By the way, I want to be an art curator now, art curators are cool... Anyway, I noticed something… The reason I felt such a connection to the painting, was that it was portrayed from my perspective; exactly the way I have always dreamt of it… The point of view as I flew up over the hill in the Tardis, after having decided to procure the Moment… The only other person that could have seen it in that way would have been you." He turned on his side to look at her, green-grey eyes shining.

Entwining her fingers with his between them, Rose bit her lip and nodded. "Funny you should say that, the other Time Lords determined that our dreams were bound in much the same way."

Using his free hand, he booped her on the nose with his forefinger. "The painting is quite well executed."

"I had the best tutor… You taught me to paint, ya know. Well, not this you, but the meta-crisis you."

He smiled, knowingly. "With the old brushes I gave him, no doubt… Heh... For the longest time, I knew that I shouldn't ask you about your life, but I didn't know why not. Granted, after everything that happened with River, I knew better than to risk any spoilers."

"Doctor, I have so much to tell you about my life, now that I finally can."

The way his bangs drooped across his face was entirely too adorable. His eyes flicked their focus down to her lips, and back up again. "I do want to hear everything, really I do, but more than anything right now, I want to kiss you... My courageous little human that saved two universes."

The Doctor brushed his lips softly against hers without breaking their eye contact. Their noses pressed together affectionately, and Rose whispered the words "I love you" in perfectly practiced Gallifreyan. Upon hearing them, he wound his hand tightly through her hair, shut his eyes, and brought her mouth to his more vigorously.

It wasn't long before he was moving within her; hearts pounding and pace quickening. Every shallow breath he drew chanted her name. Rose knew she was moaning out loud back in her bed on Gallifrey, but she was well past caring. The Doctor always did this to her. He always made her desire build into a throbbing need. He always brought her to her precipice roughly and then let her back down gently, only to bring her back up again.

When his words of encouragement deteriorated into broken Gallifreyan, she knew that he had expended himself inside her. He rested his forehead against her clavicle until he was able to recover. A warm bead of sweat fell from his chin onto her chest.

The Doctor took a in deep breath, then blew it out with a chuckle. He lifted his head so that he could rest his chin on one of her breasts and smiled up at her. "Now… What was it you were going to say about your life at the Citadel?"

Rose laughed too. "I…"

...

But before she could finish her thought, Rose was shaken awake by a violent earthquake back on Gallifrey. The frame of her bed was banging against the wall. Everything on her nightstand vibrated until it all danced over the edge and dropped to the ground.

Rose sprang from her sheets and, without bothering to change out of her jim-jams, she ran into main Council Chamber. Stacks of books were toppling over and millennia old dust sifted through the oculus as the tremors continued. Tiny ruptures in time and space crackled like sparks in the air. The ill-prepared human braced herself in the doorway while she scanned the room for Romana. In the little outcove that held the official conference table, Rose saw that the entire High Council was gathered. Why hadn't she been notified if there was going to be a Council session?

When the shaking finally subsided, she stomped over the Time Lords; noting that they were all strangely nonplussed despite the earthquake. "What the hell is going on?!"

"Rose, I'm glad you're here..." Romana started.

"Yeah? Well, I would have been here the whole time had I been informed of a Council meeting!"

The Chancellor spoke up, albeit callously. "Calm down. This meeting was hastily thrown together… An emergency session, if you will. I went to your room to notify you, but you were asleep. I concluded that you were immersed in an important dream with the Doctor, since you were repeating his name while you tossed and turned. That being the case, I decided against waking you."

Rose was too worried to be embarrassed. "Emergency? What emergency? _And what in the name of Raxacoricofallapatorius is that?!_ "

One of the walls in the central rotunda had been split wide. Golden particles whizzed out of the opening and immediately burnt out, like so many fireworks. The edges of the gouge sizzled and refracted the light that was shining through.

"If I may." Said Romana, standing up. "I believe that is an unstable trans-universal rift, which was created as a result of our collective impatience."

"Our calculations must have been off, due to the time constraints we were under… I suppose I might be able to stabilize it." The Chancellor muttered as he tottered over to the opening and started buzzing it with a sonic-screwdriver.

"What he means is that we had to act quickly. A small point of weakness in the impermeable fabric that divides our universe from the Doctor's was detected: a crack in time. We had to capitalize on the opportunity before dissipated. In an emergency Council session, we voted to bombard the crack with a focused beam of energy in an attempt to open it. That rift is evidence that we did open it, but not wide enough to move Gallifrey back into its proper universe."

"I thought you had to wait for the Doctor to do that?"

"Like I said… It was impatience on our part."

The Chancellor and three other Time Lords went and found a piece of technological bric-a-brac, and began setting it up in front of the disturbance. After running a scanner over it, the new apparatus lit up and the edges of the rift cooled to mere embers.

Once again addressing Romana, the Chancellor said: "That should help maintain its current size and frequency. If we hook up a modified Vortex manipulator we may be still be able to breach the rift, if provided with an appropriate antithesis cypher."

Rose frowned and looked to Romana for a translation. "Please explain you plan more clearly, Chancellor." The sympathetic Time Lady requested.

He sighed. "In layman's terms: we need assistance from the other universe in order to pass through the rift... Theoretically, if we utilize the old Vortex manipulator from your Tardis, Rose, it will recognize the Doctor on the other side... Prompting him with a vocal cue that, once spoken, will initiate our transition back into the correct universe."

Rose crossed her arms. "I do _not_ give you permission to dismantle my Tardis."

"Ugh... You're not even bound to the ship, your attachment is purely sentimental." Upon receiving a seething look from the uncompromising human girl, the Chancellor rolled his eyes and relented. "Fine, I may be able to achieve the desired effect keeping your precious ship intact, but you'll have to convince it to move into the Council Chambers."

It took way more cajoling than should have been necessary to move the stubborn Tardis just down the hall. There were promises of hand polishing the time rotor and regular viewings of 'Back to the Future' (which for some reason was the ship's favourite movie). But in the end, it allowed its Vortex manipulator to become part of the larger machine that was being rapidly assembled in the Council Chambers.

At Rose's behest, the Dimensional Coaxial Fusion Device was also moved into the Council Chambers. Since the rift had eroded some of the barriers between the universes, one of the other council members was able to rig the device to track the Doctor's brain waves on the other side. She was finally given a way to monitor him when he wasn't sleeping. It wasn't much, but at least Rose would know if he was in severe pain or regenerating. The pale green blip-blip-blip on the screen helped to keep her calm during the long waking hours.

When all was said and done, the large domed room was filled to capacity with runs of cables, flashing LEDs, and various other bits of technology. Inside the Tardis, Rose could hear the ominous monotone broadcast that was intended to alert the man she loved. _'Doctor Who? Doctor Who?'_

…

When she went to sleep that night, the Doctor was already waiting for her. As soon as she appeared, he ran to her and took her by the shoulders. "Rose! Has the Council gone off their rockers? What is happening over there?"

"You got the transmission then, yeah?"

"Yeah, me and every other species in the universe!... And I would say that at least half of them showed up!... Daleks, Sontarans, Judoon, Cybermen, Autons… Quite the spectacle your blokes have stirred up over here. Thank Rassilon that the Papal Mainframe showed up first, to protect the little planet where the rift appeared." His grip slid from her shoulders down her arms until he was clutching her hands.

"You're not going to bring Gallifrey through, are you?"

"Not in the foreseeable future, no… Rose, every enemy that Gallifrey has ever had is waiting here to destroy it. The Time War would resume and everything we just accomplished would be for naught." The Doctor shook his head solemnly.

"I understand, but I am not sure that the rest of the Council will… You may feel as though you just recently saved Gallifrey, but they have been frozen here and waiting to return for a millenia."

"They won't close the crack in time?"

"I'm not even sure if they can. The best they have been able to do so far is to stabilize it."

"Ah… Right… So an impasse then…" After releasing her hands, he paced in circles mumbling to himself, trying to determine the smartest course of action with the fewest casualties.

"Doctor? Just out of curiosity, where did the rift break through on that side?"

His lip curled back a little and lowered his tone to a foreboding register that Rose had never heard him use before. " _Trenzalore._ "

* * *

 **Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!**


	12. Midnight

*****WARNING: Contains spoilers for Time of the Doctor. Credit to Steven Moffat for those parts.*****

* * *

 _ **After 550 Years Living on Gallifrey:** The displaced former shopgirl had read everything in the entire Citadel library, and was forced to move on to other alien libraries to satiate her desire for knowledge and entertainment._

 _ **After 900 Years Living on Gallifrey:** Rose had become quintessentially bored with existence. Both Romana and the Chancellor had regenerated during the course of her stay on Gallifrey. Rose now was under the assumption that regeneration was a requirement, not for health purposes, but for sanity; with fresh eyes and a new outlook on life, the same old things can be enjoyed again anew._

...

She briefly considered traveling through space (but not time), perhaps even taking on her own interstellar companions for company. Alas, her old Tardis was still hooked up to the rift stabilization apparatus, not that it would have moved even if it weren't. Romana tried to offer her a newer model, she even offered to join her for a 'quick' decade long trip, but Rose declined.

Instead, she putted around the Council Chambers guarding her side of the trans-universal rift from anyone that might try to interfere. From what the Doctor had told her, he did roughly the same thing on the other side. They watched over both sides, two similarly dedicated souls. Although, some days Rose was unsure if it was love for the sanctity of life or just love for the Doctor that motivated her. Either way, it came down to love and that was enough.

The siege of Trenzalore continued indefinitely. The Doctor had become a hero to the people of Christmas, receiving hundreds of idealistic pictures drawn by its younger residents. Conversely, Rose had let her status deteriorate until she was nothing more than a curious diversion for those visiting the Citadel; the immortal human that never left the Council Chambers, except to sleep... Sleep and dream…

...

In an overstuffed arm chair next to the Dimensional Coaxial Fusion Device, Rose sat trying to read a somewhat slimy and disgusting slitheen romance novel. It was one of the few books she could get a hold of that she had not yet read, but she had put it off for a good reason... Ick... Tossing it aside she tried to resume her alien equivalent to a crossword puzzle. Given her years of study, most crosswords were far too easy for her now, but this one happened to be written in native Crespallion. In order to challenge herself, she had rigged up a small dampening field, the size of a book light, which prevented its contents from being translated for her by the Tardis (or any other ambient Time Lord technology, for that matter).

Her tongue caught in her teeth, she was concentrating so hard that she nearly jumped out of her skin when a nearby alarm began to blare loudly. The little diodes on the Dimensional Coaxial Fusion Device that were usually green had begun flashing mauve. Other members of the Council ran into the room to ascertain the source of the disruption.

The Chancellor hustled over to Rose. "What seems to be the problem?"

Rose was still examining the data. "It's the Doctor... His conventional brain waves are no different than they were yesterday. But see? Look here. This line that is associated with his Rassilon Imprimatur has gone all caddywompus… Although he doesn't appear to be in any pain, I think he may be dying. Old age perhaps?"

"All those books have finally made the human clever."

"I've always been clever, you're just an arse." She sneered.

Romana ran into the Council Chambers and joined the crowd that was growing around the noisy device. Upon seeing the information on the display, she gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. "Rose... I'm so so sorry…"

"S'alright, I'm just glad he's in no pain this time. I will love him no matter what he looks like."

"He never told you?"

"Told me what?"

"I… I don't know how to say this gently…" Romana hesitated. "This is his last incarnation… He is really dying."

"No… _No_ … That can't be right. You said this was his eleventh body that he recognized with a regeneration number, plus the War Doctor, makes twelve."

"Oh, my dear friend..." Romana embraced her and started to weep softly. "The meta-crisis used up one of his regenerations. Indirectly, your husband was his thirteenth form."

"No…" Rose pushed her away in anguish. Speechless, she sunk to her knees in front of the crack in time and placed her hands on the wall. No, it was too much. He wouldn't do that to her, would he? She had no warning, she didn't know that their last dream together was their _last_ dream together. She didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. Memories of their fateful separation at Canary Wharf assaulted her. She wasn't strong enough to go through that again. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Come, let's leave her in peace." Romana said to the other Time Lords as she escorted them from the room.

The Chancellor waited behind and cleared his throat. "Madame President, I believe that the time has come for me to close to rift. Without the Doctor, it serves no purpose and may make us vulnerable to dalek attacks from the other universe."

"Excuse me?" Romana turned back to look at him, accusation weighing heavily on her words.

Rose could not believe what she had just heard either, and she cursed under her breath. "You mean to tell me that you could have ended the siege at any time?"

"The Doctor should have used the rift to bring us through long ago." The emotionless Chancellor set about flipping switches and powering down parts of the haphazard rift stabilization apparatus.

Building rage was what pulled the little human girl up onto her feet. "How do you figure that he could he have gotten Gallifrey through safely? Have you forgotten about the dalek mothership parked square over the rift?"

"We've fought the daleks before, we could have fought them again." More buttons and levers were toggled, which caused more warning sirens to go off. They echoed loudly off the walls of the chamber.

"If you had closed the rift, he could have spent the last 900 years trying to find a better way to get us through the void." Romana was quickly growing agitated with him as well.

With one final buzz from his sonic-screwdriver, the rift resumed its sparking and smoldering. Without so much as as apology, he turned to face the angering women. "The Doctor failed, plain and simple."

" _DON'T YOU DARE IMPLY..."_ Rose was on the cusp of launching herself at him in a blind fury. Her fists were tightly balled at her sides. She felt the Doctor's Oncoming Storm coursing through her. Whatever expression was on her face at that moment seemed to give the Chancellor pause. His usually stoic expression finally betrayed his underlying cowardice. Through gritted teeth, Rose growled: "Like the Doctor, I have never believed that violence is the answer… But if you do not get out of my sight _NOW_ , there is no amount of regenerative energy that will be able to bring you back!"

The frightened man hurried from the room, leaving Rose and Romana to deal with the faltering trans-universal rift. Rose ran back to the crack in the wall and called to the Doctor desperately.

...

"You're going to stay here. Promise me you will." Said the dying Doctor to his loyal brunette companion. They were on the first floor of the clocktower building, at the center of the town of Christmas. Daleks had broken through the final shield of Trenzalore and were causing devastation just outside of the door.

"Why?"

"I'll be keeping you safe. One last victory. Allow me that. Give me that, my impossible girl. Thank you, and goodbye." He wiped away Clara's tears before hobbling up the stairs to the clock tower. With a grumble he added: "The trouble with daleks is they take so long to say anything. Probably die of boredom before they shoot me."

"The Doctor is required!" Clara heard a dalek say above them.

"Listen to me, you lot. Listen!" She had turned and was now pleading with a gilded crack in the wall; praying that someone on the other side would hear her. "Help him. Help him change the future. Do it. Do something… You've been asking a question, and it's time someone told you you've been getting it wrong. His name… His name is the Doctor. All the name he needs. Everything you need to know about him. And if you love him, and you should, help him...Help him."

...

Rose wasn't sure how it was possible, but she heard Clara's plea. It echoed the one in her own heart. There had to be something she could do, anything. Across the room, Romana was watching a data feed related to the rapidly destabilizing trans-universal rift.

"Don't just stand there! The daleks are going to kill him and every child on that planet. We have to help!" She yelled over the cacophony of wailing alarms.

"He's dying already, but more than that, we're still separated by the void! There's no way to reach him!" Romana shouted back.

Rose looked at her blue police box, and then down at the innumerable wires snaking their way out of her door. One of them lead directly to the Dimensional Coaxial Fusion Device. " _Oh yes there is!_ " She yanked that wire from its coupling and then retrieved a similar wire from the back of the fusion device. Holding up the two leads and grinning madly, Rose called to the Tardis: "Common old girl, don't fail me now."

When Romana realized what Rose was about to do, she panicked. "Oh no!… No, no no… Not possible! Your connection is not strong enough to use that again… It will kill you!"

"You can't know that for sure. It's my connection after all."

"Have you lost your mind?!"

More tiny fissures in time crackled around the room as the rift prepared to implode in on itself. "I have to do something!" Rose said resolutely.

"Not this!" Romana was attempting to scramble over the nest of cables to reach her. "Best case scenario: your mental energy will become fused with his. Worst case scenario: your mind will dissolve and your brain will leak out through your ruptured eye sockets. Either way, you will cease to exist!"

There would be no reasoning with her, the Undying Hope of Gallifrey had made up her mind. "I've lived long enough. That first scenario might help him, and it's worth it to me. _Don't you understand?_ I can't live without him! I have to try... for him... I love him…"

"Rose! Don't!"

She touched the leads together before Romana could stop her. A blinding flash burned up her retinas. It really did feel like her eye balls were melting out of her skull. Pain ripped through her veins, stealing the breath from her lungs. The last thing she heard was Romana screaming hysterically. Golden, shimmering energy burst from every last one of Rose's cells simultaneously.

When the glow eventually receded and the rift snapped shut, her lifeless body crumpled to the floor of the now silent room.

...

 _This is **not** the story of how I died. This is the story of how I **lived** and continue to live, perpetually through him; how our hearts and minds became as intertwined as our timelines._

 _When you are in love with Time's Champion, nothing happens by chance. Why was I given a second chance to be with him? Why did Bad Wolf bolster my years beyond my means? It was all for this moment, so that I would have enough life to be able to restore him. It all lead to this last gift I bestowed upon my beloved Doctor._

 _Every modicum of potential energy, every accumulated second of life I had yet to live poured out of me and into him, like grains of sand shifting in an hour glass. The Doctor would not die on Trenzalore. He would live! Recharged and rejuvenated, ready to save the galaxies once more._

...

"You are dying, Doctor."

So dull these daleks were, the Doctor thought to himself. They should be celebrating the long awaited death of their nemesis. Would it kill them to say something mildly amusing? "Yes, I'm dying. You've been trying to kill me for centuries, and here I am, dying of old age. If you want something done, do it yourself."

"You will die, and the Time Lords will never return."

The Doctor hoped that he had distracted the daleks long enough for Clara to get everyone to safety. Just to be sure, he continued on with his snarky banter. "You still can't work up the courage to shoot me, can you? You're still worried I've got something up my sleeve. Well, you knock yourselves out, boys. I've got nothing this time." If only he could slay them with wit.

Just then, the sky above him ripped open. Resplendent life energy spilled through a new crack in time and permeated the stunned Doctor. The raw power of it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. It surged through his body reinforcing every molecular bond, strengthening every synapse connection, reversing the age deterioration of every cell. Astonished, he looked down at his hands; no longer frail and weak but young and strong and glowing with excess power. A sly grin slid across his face.

"You will die now, Doctor. This is the end of you...The rules of regeneration are known. You have expended all your lives." The dalek rasped.

"Sorry, what did you say? Did you mention the rules? Now, listen, bit of advice... Tell me the truth if you think you know it. Lay down the law if you're feeling brave. But daleks, never, ever tell me the rules!" The Time Lord felt replete with confidence again.

The daleks overhead began to panic, rightfully so. "Emergency! Emergency! The Doctor is regenerating!"

"Oh, look at this. Regeneration number thirteen. We're breaking some serious science here, boys. I tell you what, it's going to be a whopper!" Behind him, the clock tower struck midnight.

"Exterminate! Exterminate the Doctor!"

"You think you can stop me now, Daleks? If you want my life, ha ha, come and get it!" The excess regenerative energy condensed in his palm. He hurled it at the fleeing daleks and they fell to the ground, obliterated. Good riddance! More and more daleks crumbled under his newfound power.

Below him, he saw Clara rushing the remaining survivors into the Tardis. He was clear to deliver one last crippling blow to the dalek mothership. "Love from Gallifrey, boys!" He called, as the final energy beam decimated the remainder of his enemies.

* * *

...

The grey landscape was silent and hazy. From the fog, a new man emerged; draped in a long dark jacket that was lined with red satin. Rose had never seen this grey haired individual before, but she recognized him immediately. He approached her cautiously.

"You look different." She said. "Still not ginger, I see."

"You feel different... Like a different presence in my mind. Did something change?" He was circling her at arm's length, prowling even. "Over the years, I've gotten so that I can feel our link, but tonight it's... gone... Is this really you? Or are you just a figment of my imagination?"

"It's really me... Banana sunscreen and all… heh."

He paused to look deep into her whiskey colored eyes. "But... There's no tether to the other universe. And yet, there's more of you here... All of you even."

"You have all of me now."

"I... I don't understand." The Doctor regarded her quizzically, but Rose simply took his hand and gave him a meaningful look. He had to know, she thought, somewhere in his hearts he had to feel it. His bushy eyebrows raised when he finally made the connection. " _Love from Gallifrey_... You?... Rose, you did this?!... All of this?... You gave me your life?... You gave me twelve more regenerations?... You gave me new _kidneys?!_ "

She shrugged. "Not sure how I managed that last part, but yeah... That ok? I mean, you're really stuck with me… No getting me out of your head now."

"Oh Rose…" His eyes welled up with heart-wrenching gratitude. He understood everything now. The Doctor gently tucked a lock of stray hair behind her ear, kissed her cheek, and whispered: "Stuck with you, that's not so bad."

...

 _I may only exist in his dreams now, but I am with him. For the last few centuries, I had only truly felt alive on the nights when our subconscious minds met. This has always been my destiny._

...

He kissed her cheek again before venturing to kiss her lips. When he embraced her, the Doctor sighed heavily. "I can never repay you for what you have given me, Rose Tyler. But know that I love you, have always loved you, and will always love you."

Resting her head against the place on his chest where she could listen to his rejuvenated hearts fluttering, she replied: "Quite right too..."


End file.
